Category Archives: Herbs in the garden

annuals and perennial herbs for containers, landscapes and kitchen gardens.

The Great Sunflower Project

Posted on May 26, 2011 by | Comments Off on The Great Sunflower Project
Herb gardeners know how important bees are to our gardens. One of every three bites of food we eat come from a plant pollinated by wild pollinators. Unfortunately many pollinators are declining. That’s what the Great Sunflower Project wants to change. 

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Grow sunflowers to attract butterflies, bees and finches. Photo by Patsy Bell Hobson

The Great Sunflower Project, a project that plans to unravel the mystery of the disappearing pollinators, pulls together data that you help them collect. With this data it will create a database to help understand what is happening to the bee pollinators and how our green spaces are connected. Sunflowers is an easy-to-grow plant that gives height to the herb garden and is wildy attractive to birds and bees.

• Sign up and plant your sunflowers.
• Watch your sunflower for 15 minutes: Write down how long it takes for the first five bees to arrive at your sunflower. After 15 minutes, you can stop. If you haven’t seen 5 bees by then, the Great Sunflower Project want to know!
• Enter your data online.

By watching and recording the bees at these sunflowers, you can help with the research the Great Sunflower Project is doing to understand the challenges that bees are facing. Grow annual ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflowers (Helianthus anus). I got mine from Renee’s Garden. ‘Lemon Queen’ is a lovely branching variety that is particularly attractive to bees. Other herbs that bees are attracted to include basils, borage, catmint, lavender and rosemary.

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Win ’Lemon Queen’ sunflower seeds and participate in the Great Sunflower Project. Photo by Rhonda Fleming hayes/Courtesy Flickr

Win ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflower seeds and participate in the Great Sunflower Project.
Photo by Rhonda Fleming hayes/Courtesy Flickr

Seed Packet Giveaway

Renee’s Garden is giving away three packets of ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflowers to three lucky blog readers.

HOW TO ENTER

• Post a comment in the comments section below telling us why you grow, or why you want to grow, sunflowers.

• End date: June 1, 2011 (12:00 a.m. Central Time)

Good luck!

 

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!

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Rain Relief

Posted on April 25, 2011 by | 1 comment

For a short time, a very short time this morning, there was sunshine. After having such a long rainy spell, I grabbed the camera and ran went out to document the fact.

yellow iris

after the rain, a brilliant yellow iris opens up, a little.

Having survived the constant rain, this pretty thing wasn’t going to miss a minute of bloom time.

The rain beat off the petals on the dogwoods, lilacs and the last of the daffodils.

Already, the rain is back. The only plants that still have flowers, are the ones in bud that refused to bloom until this damaging rain stopped.

The flood gates are closed. Many folk are sand bagging hoping to save thier home from the continuing rains. Huge, hundred year old trees have topled over onto many homes.

lantana

little lantana blooms

 

rainy Broccoli

The broccoli is tired of rain

Even the herbs and vegetables are just sitting in the soggy ground, not growing.

Still, it was nice to see the sun and remember what it looked like.

rain and chives

The chives are thinking of blooming regardless.

The Napeta (cat mint) is just waiting for a few hours of golden light to really produce those lavender flowers that the bees love so much. This is a favorite, long blooming, no fuss perennial. Makes a great mounding ground vover.

cat mint

nepta, ot cat mint

Now for a bit of a cat nap on this rainy afternoon. (I love to sleep when it is raining.) Isn’t this Iris a lovely color?

Iris

These dark purple buds be come Lavender blooms.

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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More Thyme in the Garden

Posted on April 6, 2011 by | Comments Off on More Thyme in the Garden

I have a lot more thyme than I used to. If you want more thyme, try these tips.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an aromatic herb valued as an ornamental and culinary herb. It has small lavender or pink flowers. Plant thyme in a rock garden or border for decoration; cultivate it for culinary seasoning. Thyme grows around 6 to 12 inches tall. It has a sprawling habit and can easily be increased from cuttings, crown division or seeds.

Strip the tiny leaves off the stem.

Strip tiny leaves from stem.
Photo by Patsy Bell Hobson

After its first year, cut thyme plants back each spring to renew them and keep them tidy. Plants prefer well-drained dry soil. Since it grows slowly, especially early in its life, weed-control is essential. It is a perennial in Zones 5 to 8.

Use fresh thyme with zucchini. Sauté any summer squash in a bit of butter and olive oil with onion, parsley, and thyme.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/in-the-herb-garden/garden-giveaway-thyme-seeds-spring-garden.aspx#ixzz1IjIlwh4u

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens

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Heirlooms in the Herb Garden

Posted on April 6, 2011 by | Comments Off on Heirlooms in the Herb Garden

The word ‘heirloom’ harkens back to a nostalgic time—when life was sweeter, tomatoes were redder and folks actually used the word harken.

One of the best lemony herbs

Open-pollinated, or parent plants that are naturally pollinated, heirloom plants produce heirloom seed. The new generation of seeds will produce plants that are identical to its parent plants.

Many folks say that to be classified as an heirloom the cultivar has to be at least 50 or 100 years old. Others say before World War II ended. (The end of World War II marked the industrialization of agriculture and widespread hybrid cultivation.)

Heirloom plants have proven to be more heat tolerant, drought tolerant, insect resistant and have more vitamins and minerals. If they didn’t have any of these desirable characteristics, we wouldn’t grow them and soon they wouldn’t exist.

Mrs. Burns’ lemon basil (Ocimum basilicum citriodora ) is an heirloom (pre 1940) basil grown by Mrs. Burns in southwestern New Mexico. This lemon basil is taller and has larger leaves than other lemon basils. It also has an intense lemon flavor and fragrance.

Read more: http://www.herbcompanion.com/blogs/blog.aspx?blogid=2890&tag=Patsy Bell Hobson#ixzz1Ij5k9jME

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace

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What is soil temperature?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by | Comments Off on What is soil temperature?

Wait until the soil warms to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (70°)  to plant peppers and tomatoes.

Plant tomatoes  when soil temperatures are above 60°. Temperatures below 50° are like a polar bear plunge to your lovely tomato plant.

soil thermometers

Warm season crops, like tomatoes and eggplant, need warm soil temperatures. If you plant tomatoes before the ground warms sufficiently they will not grow. The tomatoes will just stand in the soil and wait for warmer days.

Push a soil thermometer 4 inches into the soil where you plan to plant tomatoes.

Test the soil for 3 or 4 days. The soil temperature is the soil average. Measure the temperature in the mornings or before 10:00 a.m.

When the soil temperature is 40°, plant cool season crops kale.

50° – plant leeks and onions

60° – plant broccoli and cabbage

70° – tomatoes and basil

Measure the soil temp. and put the thermometer away.

You can plant the whole garden based on soil temperatures. Be sure to store the thermometer in a safe place. I only remind you because I “lost” my little thermometer last week, when I left it in the garden.

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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Ground-hugging Minus Thyme

Posted on March 13, 2011 by | Comments Off on Ground-hugging Minus Thyme

Minus Thyme Thymus praecox articus ‘Minor’

Minus Thyme Thymus praecox articus 'Minor'

Minus Thyme is a perennial, hardy in zones 5-9. The evergreen, ground-hugging thyme is covered with pink flowers in late spring. One of the lowest growing thymes, it never exceeds 1”. Minus can take light foot traffic making it a good choice along pathyways and between stepping stones.

I bought a plug pack of 12, two years ago from Richters Herbs. The plants did so well, I ordered another plug pack last spring. Then, I divided the tiny thyme that I had planted between stepping stones. It is growing enthusiastically between stepping stones and is easily divided.

The spaces need weeding until the thyme fills in. This very slow process will take a couple more years to fill all the spaces between the stepping stones. I could speed the process by dividing the thyme clumps more often.

Minus Thyme with Cobra for size comparicon

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner

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Build A Butterfly Garden

Posted on February 18, 2011 by | 3 comments

Invite butterflies to live their full lifecycle in your garden. Provide host plants for laying eggs and for caterpillar food.

Butterflies lay eggs that hatch in 3-6 days. A caterpillar pupates in 3-4 weeks then in 9-14 days, a new butterfly emerges.

1. Locate your butterfly garden in full sun. Butterflies need sun to warm their bodies to fly.
2. Plant butterfly-attracting flowers that have strong scents and bright colors.
3. Include plants in your garden for butterflies lay their eggs and for emerging caterpillars to eat.

Bright colors and fragrance attract butterflies.

Select native plants and they will attract local butterflies. Watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis is reward enough for all the chewed leaves missing in the garden.

Puddling –

By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. Placing stones in the garden, or shallow bowls filled with sand and water are perfect for puddling.

Herbs attract butterflies and caterpillars.

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Posted in Gardens (not mine), Go Away, Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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K State Says Bug Off

Posted on February 18, 2011 by | Comments Off on K State Says Bug Off

K-State Study Takes No Static From Bugs

uninvited guest

For years, master gardeners have claimed that placing Bounce® original brand fabric softener dryer sheets into the pockets of clothing repels mosquitoes. A new two year study from the researchers at KSU suggests there may be some truth to claims that by tucking a Bounce® sheet in your pocket keeps the insects from bugging you.

Some gardeners have been using Bounce® for years, but experiments by researchers at Kansas State University and the University of Illinois revealed scientific evidence that support the claims of gardeners. Raymond Cloyd, professor, K-State’s Department of Entomology, decided to follow up on the claims of gardeners that Bounce® sheets repel insects.

“Being a scientist, I didn’t just shrug it off,” he said. “I thought about it, cogitated on it and decided to test this out quantitatively.” Bounce® fabric softener dryer sheets either directly or indirectly repel adult fungus gnats in the laboratory.

In the rearch discussion “It is interesting to note that the citrosa plant (Pelargonium citrosum ‘Van Leenii’), which is said to repel mosquitoes, contains 6.8% linalool (Matsuda et al., 1996). Citronellol [3, 7-dimethyloct-6-en-1-al (C10H18O)] is a monoterpene found in many plants, including rose geranium, citronella, European pennyroyal, and lemon balm.”

If the scientist or herbalist in you wants to know more, Read the research at Bounce® Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets Repel Fungus Gnat by Raymond A. Cloyd

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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What is Succession Planting?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by | 1 comment

Stretch your garden harvest by planting the same crop ten days later, and then again in ten more days.

lettuce and spinach will be suceeded by pepper plants

Another method is to replace one crop with another. For example, I’ll plant spinach in the early spring. As the weather gets warmer, I’ll plant green beans where the spinach was. I’ll plant half the row, and then, ten days later, I’ll finish planting the row with more green beans. Later, I’ll plant turnips in the row that grew green beans.

This method of gardening maximises your garden space. Even a tiny garden or big container can be used in this way.

Early peas will be replaced with green beans

Renee’s Garden has one of the most productive guides to using and reusing your garden space.

Renee’s Kitchen Garden Design Plans designed to maximize space.

Renee’s FAQs site gives you an organic gardeners short and sweet answer, not a science lecture. Her site is especially helpful on ferilizing and storing seed.

Zoning In

Find your plant hardiness zone. Use this guide to buy plants and learn when to sow seeds. I think the line between 6a and 6b runs right through my front yard. Depending on the investment – how much money I spend on the tree or plant –  I go back and forth, my answer could be different on any given day. I live in zone 6a. Or is it  6b?

US National Arboretum “Web Version” of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

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Gardeners in the Kitchen

Posted on February 9, 2011 by | 1 comment

http://hubpages.com/hub/Gardeners-Cookbook

I always order several lettuces and spring greens

A good place to start your garden seed order is by leafing through your favorite cookbooks. Renee Shepherd’s cookbooks showcase the best of garden fresh cuisine. Who better to write a cookbook than the person who grows a bountiful vegetable garden?

Renee’s Garden has two cookbooks, “Recipes From A Kitchen Garden” and “More Recipes From A Kitchen Garden.” My cookbooks are tabbed, with penciled notes in the margins and dog-eared. These two very affordable cookbooks ($12.95) have a few food splashes and the occasional sticky fingerprint.

Horseradish is the herb of the year 2011. I’ve ordered ”

Both Cookbooks will inspire you to grow more veggies from seed.

Tricolor Bush” beans and the skinny French “haricot vert,” that are bright green beans “Rolande. I am predicting that Chilled Green Beans with Creamy Horseradish Dressing and Green beans with Basil-Walnut Vinaigrette are going to be garden party and alfresco dining hits.

Best of all, these two dishes are make-ahead recipes that will develop flavor while chilling in the fridge. These two recipes are in the first cookbook, Recipes from a Kitchen Garden.

As an herb gardener, I love that Renee’s cookbooks incorporate edible flowers and fresh herbs in many of the recipes. With these cookbooks, you will enjoy fresh recipe ideas all season.

baby romaines

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Posted in Gifts, Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!, Recipes

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